Prisoner Of Arus
by Papa Palpatine 2008
Summary: After the events of The Cryon IV Incident, Lotor awakens to find himself handcuffed to a bed in the castle's medical center on Arus. Will the Voltron Force turn him over to Galaxy Garrison or will Allura object? Chapter 3 coming soon!
1. Episode 1: Awakening

**Prisoner Of Arus, Episode 1: Awakening**

_By PapaPalpatine2008_

**Notice: **No own, please no sue.

And now we begin where _The Cryon IV Incident_ left off…

* * *

Keith had the castle gymnasium all to himself, not that he was interested in talking to anyone at the moment. He stood before a punching bag in a far corner, punching, kicking, throwing elbow strikes and backhands; all the while growling and grunting in the way he never did in front of everyone else. Being the leader, being the responsible one, was at best a mixed blessing; almost to the point that he missed the obnoxious little punk he had been before the Academy made him what he was today. The burdens of command were one thing, what Allura had done to him that day made it all pale by comparison.

"How could she bring _him_ here?" He kept asking himself over and over. After everything the Prince of Doom had done since they first encountered him, Allura brings the injured Lotor back from Cryon IV like he was some poor stray animal she had taken pity on. Worse, he imagined her keeping a vigil at the Drule prince's bedside since he came out of surgery as if he were some cherished friend or relative, rather than the man who had repeatedly attempted to kidnap her and force her into marriage.

_Why?_ He thought. _What had happened between the two of them while they were on that icy waste of a planet?_

"Commander Akira?" A voice addressed him from behind. Keith turned to see a man in technician's coveralls, holding a clipboard. Before he could even open his mouth, the man pointed and said, "Sir, look out!"

Before Keith could react, the punching bag he had been pummeling up to that point swung back in a wide arc and knocked him to the padded, carpeted floor. "Ow! Damnit!"

"I-I'm sorry sir…I…here, let me…" The technician reached down offering a hand, but Keith waved him away.

"No, it's not your fault." Keith said, slowly hauling himself back to his feet and shaking his head. "Now what is it?!"

"Progress reports for repairs to the Lions, sir." He said, handing Keith the clipboard. As he read, the technician continued, "Blue Lion's repairs are progressing smoothly but it's still expected to be tomorrow evening before they're finished. The others needed only minor repairs at most and will be ready to go immediately."

"Yes, well, Thank you," Keith said in a subtly curt tone as he signed the paperwork. As he handed the clipboard back, he said. "Was there something else?"

"No, not really. Well there is…"

"What?"

"Assuming it wouldn't be out of line for me to say so," He began. "You seem a bit…distracted lately, sir."

Keith sighed and shrugged. "I guess I have been."

"Would it have anything to do with the… 'guest' the princess recently brought back to the castle?" Keith was about to say something back, but the technician put up a hand and cut him off. "I can understand. After everything he's done, she brings him home like he's some poor, lost puppy dog. I suppose if I had a girlfriend and she did something like that to me, I'd…"

"Girlfriend?" Keith's face was at a loss for whether to blanch or turn bright red. "A-Allura and I aren't…"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry sir! I know you and the princess can't officially…Sorry, forget I said—"

"It's okay." Keith waved a hand. "Listen, I came down here to be by myself for awhile, so could you…"

"Yes sir, sorry sir. I'll get out of your hair right away." With that, the technician left the room.

_I should've decked that idiot, would've served him right._ Keith thought, shaking his head and turning his attention back to the punching bag. His mind projected Lotor's face on the bag; that wide, wicked grin that showed the Drule prince's fangs and somehow seemed more smug and triumphant than it ever has…

* * *

His vision was blurry and the light was blinding as he opened his eyes. _Where the hell am I?_ Prince Lotor thought as he stared up at the ceiling. Glancing around the room, it was obvious he was in a hospital of some kind, but where? No Doom hospital was this immaculate or brightly lit. Could he be in Galaxy Garrison? No, he couldn't suffer the indignity of being their prisoner. He tried to bring his hand to his face to scratch a sudden itch at his nose, but found his wrists handcuffed to the safety rails of his bed. He tugged at the restraints, grunting and hissing through his teeth, but they wouldn't budge. The fuss he was making soon brought the attention of a brown-haired young woman in a nurse's uniform. He yelled "You, what is the meaning of this outrage?!! I demand to be unshackled this instant!!!!"

The nurse ignored him and ran to an intercom by the door and pressed the talk button. "Doctor Gorma, he's awake."

"Thank you, Kara." A male voice answered. "I'll be down in a moment."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Where am I?" He demanded. The nurse turn to him, startled. "Answer me!"

"You're on Arus." The nurse said. "In the castle's medical wing."

"The Princess?" Lotor said with a suddenly concerned expression. "Is Allura alright? The Krelvan didn't…"

"No, she's fine." The nurse said. "She was more worried about you at the moment; though frankly, I can't really say I understand why."

"Listen…Kara is it?" Lotor sighed, his expression softening somewhat. "Have someone find Allura and tell her I want to see her."

"Why should I?" She replied, folding her arms.

"Please Kara," Lotor said. "I just want to see for myself that she's alright."

Nurse Kara sighed and shook her head, then said. "Very well…"

"Thank you."

* * *

Pidge, Lance, and Hunk were in the castle's recreation room, gathered around a billiard table in the far back corner. Other castle personal congregated around arcade cabinets, pinball machines, ping pong tables, and the drink and snack machines. Hunk was leaning lazily against the back wall, inhaling a packet of M&Ms while Pidge and Lance played pool. Lance racked the balls and Pidge took the break. The cue ball slammed into the ball at the apex of the triangle, making them all scatter. A red solid ball and a green striped ball rolled and dropped into the corner right pocket and the left middle pocket respectively. They exchanged glances. Lance then said, "So, you want to take solids or stripes?"

"Well, I guess since the striped ball was green, I'll go with them."

"Okay."

Pidge scratched the bridge of his nose and adjusted his glasses, and then he lined up for his next shot, sending the cue ball hurling towards a cluster of balls gathered near the corner left pocket. The balls rattled around the immediate area of the table, but none went in. "Damn…"

"My turn," Lance said with a grin, chalking his stick and repositioning the cue ball. "Let a pro show you how it's done."

As Lance was preparing to take his shot, Pidge picked up the chalk cube, whistled while chalking his own stick, and then set the cube on a corner of the table, right in Lance's line of sight. Distracted, Lance missed his shot, sending the cue ball into a side pocket.

"That's how the pros do it?" Pidge snickered. "My turn again."

"Hey, you did that on purpose!" Lance said indignant. "Just for that, I think I ought to get another shot."

Hunk interrupted them. "Guys, don't you think this is all a little weird?"

"Weird?" Pidge looked at him funny. "What's weird?"

"Only that you'd think King Zarkon and his cronies would've attacked us again by now." He replied. "Hell, with Blue Lion still in for repairs, this would be the best possible time for another strike; while we're still without the ability to form Voltron."

"I don't know, maybe they're still in transit or something." Lance shrugged. "It's a long way between Doom and Arus, even with hyperdrive capability. Anyway, I wouldn't sweat it until we know for sure that they're coming."

"Don't think too much about it, Big Guy." Pidge smiled. "There's not a whole lot we can do until unless and until we get an alert from Castle Control."

"Yeah, well, I guess you're right." Hunk said with a sheepish expression. "Either of you hear any news about our…'guest' over in the medical wing?"

"Little Boy Blue?" Lance said disdainfully. "I imagine if he were starting to come around, someone would notify us immediately. I hate to say it, but I'm a little more worried about Keith at the moment."

Pidge and Hunk looked at each other, at Lance, and then silently nodded.

* * *

Allura was asleep in her bed, Cheddar and the other space mice slept huddled together on a pillow next to hers. Her dreams were a flurry of images from her time stranded on Cryon IV: Lotor finding her in the ice cave, the cave-in, the ice beast that tried to kill them, and finally the Krelvan surrounding them. In particular, she was haunted by some specter of the Krelvan commander who had so nearly taken Lotor's life right in front of her. She had taken its life and those of its troops in retribution, using Lotor's own sword to do so. Then there was the image of Hunk's face when he, one of her friends, came into the cave and saw what she had done to the lot of them.

It was strange. Intellectually, she knew in every battle in which she had ever flown her Blue Lion, she must have killed someone on at least a dozen occasions, possibly more. But this had been on a more personal level, much more personal; and the ruthlessness with which she had cut them all down scared her more than she enjoyed thinking about. Lotor would have, naturally, approved; but something deep inside allowed her no peace on the matter, no matter how malevolent as the Krelvan and their intentions had been.

She tossed about in bed, disturbing the slumber of Cheddar and his fellow mice. They quickly scrambled off the pillow and gathered around the lamp on her nightstand, exchanging perplexed glances and squeaks. A moment later, a thin sliver of light poured into the darkened bedroom as someone slowly opened the door. Allura roused from her sleep, her skin still glistening with the cold sweat she awoke in.

A young woman in a nurse's uniform stood in the doorway and called, "Princess? Are you awake?"

"I am now," Allura said, sitting up and wiping her forehead. "What is it, Kara?"

"It's Prince Lotor, Your Highness." She said. "He's regained consciousness…and he asked about you."

"I'll be down shortly," She said, reaching for her robe on a nearby chair. "Thank you for letting me know."

"W-wait…"

"What?"

"Don't tell Doctor Gorma I told you." Kara said. "I wasn't supposed to, but Lotor was worried about you… and I… I…"

_The doctor wasn't going to tell me Lotor was awake? Even after he promised?_ Allura immediately got out of bed and threw on her robe. "It's alright, Kara. Let's go now…"

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Episode 2: Blue Lion's Repairs

**Prisoner Of Arus, Episode 2: Blue Lion's Repairs**

_By papapalpatine2008_

**Notice:** No own, please no sue.

Been out of it a while, but I'm back to stay (hopefully)…

* * *

Pidge, Lance, and Hunk entered the castle's repair bay, putting on their safety goggles and hearing protection as per the sign on the door. They stood on a catwalk high over the main work floor, looking down at the various workmen and technicians that were busy repairing the damage to Allura's lion. Blue Lion was held by four mechanical arms, suspending it roughly a meter off the floor. One whole side of the lion ship's hull armor was removed, exposing structural supports and inner workings of the craft. The repair bay was noisy with the sounds of machinery and sparks from plasma welders rained out of the big opening in Blue Lion's side. Sections of ruined hull plating were in a pile in a back corner, as workmen were fabricating replacements. A large monitor nearby displayed the technical readouts of the Blue Lion, with the areas still under repair in red.

The boys descended some stairs and approached a man in technician's overalls, standing at a table on which various tools and parts were spread across the surface. He glanced up from his work and addressed them, "Hey guys."

"Hi, Geoff." Hunk said. "How's everything going?"

"Not bad," Geoff the technician shrugged. "We might actually be able to get Blue Lion up and running ahead of schedule. Some parts and materials that weren't supposed to be in until tomorrow afternoon just arrived 30 minutes ago. The boys and I are still burning the midnight oil, but in a couple more hours we should be ready to rivet the new hull plating on and spray on some coats of primer and paint."

"That's great," Pidge said, excited. "Have you told Allura and Keith the good news?"

"Well," Geoff said. "The princess is probably asleep right now, and after what happen when I last saw Commander Akira... nevermind, not important. Anyway, what have you guys been up to?"

"We're bored out of our minds, when we're not worrying about Zarkon's forces suddenly showing up and catching us with our pants down." Lance said.

Geoff nodded. "I heard that."

"We also have a certain 'guest' over in the medical wing that's still in a coma." Pidge said. "God only knows what kind of trouble he'll cause us once he comes back around."

The boys all nodded.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it." Geoff said, waving a hand. "He's not going to be sticking around long anyway."

Hunk looked at him puzzled. "What? How do you know?"

Geoff looked around to see if anyone nearby was listening in. Once he was confident no-one was, he motioned them closer and said. "I overheard Coran and the doctor having a little chat outside the surgical theatre. Coran and Commander Akira already contacted Galaxy Garrison while Prince Lotor was still on the table. A ship should be arriving by morning to cart him off. I got the impression they're trying to keep it all on the down low; especially from Her Royal Highness, and most especially after what happen on Cryon IV."

"I figured as much." Lance said, shrugging.

"Allura's probably not going to be happy about this." Pidge said, shaking his head.

"It doesn't matter anyway. They'll probably be taking him away long before she even gets out of bed tomorrow." Geoff said. "Can't say I blame the Commander, I wouldn't want him around any longer than necessary either."

"Okay, well, we'll see you later Geoff." Hunk said as he and the others turned to leave.

Geoff waved to them as they climbed the stairs back to the catwalk and then turned his attention back to his work.

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

Short chapter, but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things after my long absence.


End file.
